Burmese pythons (Python molurusbivittatus) in the Florida Everglades have been the subject of intensive scientificstudy and media scrutiny in recent years as concern grows about their impact asinvaders. It is suspected that the non-native pythons pose a serious threat tonative ecosystems in Florida, not just in their current range but far beyond.The impact of pythons and their potential range expansion in other parts of the United States is not clearly understood, partly because of a lack ofknowledge concerning their ecology and behavior in their native range.

Half a world away, Burmese pythonsremain one of the least-studied python species on the planet. Despite theirtremendous popularity in the pet industry, Burmese pythons in native Asia are something of a mystery. Drastically understudied in almost all aspects of theirbiology, very little is known about the Burmese python, their ecology, andnatural history in Asia.

Enlarge PhotoSearching for pythons in the heart of Lawachara’s rainforest

Published knowledge on the ecologyand behavior of free-ranging Burmese pythons in their native range is limitedto studies of their basking and breeding behavior in Keoladeo National Park, Rajsthan, India; a 24-day radio telemetric study of a single individual in Hong Kong; and incidental natural history observations. Detailed field study on Burmesepythons is long overdue.

With that in mind, our research team embarked on a fieldstudy of Burmese pythons in Bangladesh’s Lawachara National Park in May of 2011with initial financial support from The Orianne Society and The Explorers Club.

Both subspecies of Asian rockpythons, Indian Python (Python molurus molurus) and Burmese Python (Pythonmolurus bivittatus), occur in Bangladesh. Once common throughout thecountry, pythons are now fragmented into small and disjunct populations. Theyare now mostly found in the Sundarban mangrove forest in the southwest and themixed-evergreen forests in the northeast and southeast of the country.

Enlarge PhotoAbandoned Burmese python nest

Habitat destruction is one majorcause of their decline. Indiscriminate killing — out of fear or forconsumption — is another.

Lawachara National Park, a 1,250hectares mixed-evergreen forest, located in the northeast of Bangladesh, fallswithin the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, which supports some of the mostunique and diverse biota on the planet. Most of the original forest cover hasbeen altered or substantially removed by rotation since the early 1900s, withonly some small, remnant patches of primary forest left inside the park.

During our first year of study, weconducted intensive field surveys in this forest-plantation mosaic landscape tocollect baseline data on the python population and create a base for alonger-term ecological study. Our research team also spent hundreds of hours inthe field and systematically documented more than 500 individual snakes andidentified 35 snake species from Lawachara National Park and the surroundingtea estates. Several of the snake species were recorded for the first time from Bangladesh.

Despite the adversity herpetofaunamay be facing—from indiscriminate killing, road mortality, deforestation, anddegradation of the habitat—Lawachara appears to be a snake hotspot in thisregion.

Surrounded by tea plantations andhuman habitats on almost all sides, Lawachara pythons are opportunisticallycaptured and consumed by the indigenous tribal people living adjacent to theforest. Pythons are also often found on the tea estates, particularly inporcupine and pangolin burrows. During our survey, we found an abandoned pythonnest as well as four python hatchlings in different parts of the teaplantation, indicating that pythons use the plantation areas for breedingpurposes.

Enlarge PhotoA python captured from a tea estate

This summer, we plan to implantradio transmitters and miniature temperature loggers on several adult pythonsto collect data on movement, ranging patterns, and thermal preference of free-rangingpythons.

One of our future research objectives is to answer someimportant scientific questions: How do pythons react to thermal variationthroughout the year? How much time do they spend basking in winter, and do theyuse different areas of their activity range in cool months versus warm months? How does thermal biology affect detectionprobability?

Theknowledge gained from this study could be crucial for many reasons. Anyinformation that sheds light on the natural history and ecology of pythonscould provide knowledge to help understand their impact on the Everglades andpotential range expansion in North America. Our study site in Bangladesh is at nearly the same latitude as southern Florida, which could allow for the collectionof useful comparative data to help understand the invasion process.

Also, Burmesepythons are considered Endangered in much of their native range. Thelack of basic information makes conservation andmanagement decisions difficult at best, and possibly inappropriate. Collectinginformation about their home-range size, habitat use, thermoregulatory behavior(e.g. basking) and other aspects of life history will be vital for conservationand management of this species in Bangladesh or anywhere in their native range.

This article is also featured in the first issue of Serpens, the newsletter of the IUCN Boa & Python Specialist Group. You can see the article and read more about Boas and Pythons in the following attached newsletter.

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